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Mum and the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod - Tue Oct 05, 2004

Today, a new session of Canadian Parliament opened, and since I have worked extensively for this government, I went to the ceremonies and I took Mum. Mum has never seen anything like it. She hasn't even seen the House of Assembly in Nassau.

I got a huge charge out of watching Mum with all of the pagentry of the show. She was amazed that our Governor General is of Chinese origin. When the Governor General pulled up to Parliament Hill, there was the royal salute and fanfare-- and twenty-one guns, 105 mm howitzers firing over the river. Mum was fascinated.

We got a program, and Mum was most intensely intrigued by the description -- Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. We have what is known as a bicameral legislature -- it copies the British House of Commons and House of Lords. Except our House of Lords, is the Senate, which is appointed rather than elected. The Canadian Senators (not the hockey team) are considered to the be royalty. So when the Governor General wants to give the Speech from the Throne, the commoners (Members of Parliament) have to be summonned from the Lower House or the House of Commons. That job falls to the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. It is a 600 year old parliamentary tradition. Since he represents the royalty that the commoners hate, they bar the door to the House of Commons, and he ceremoniously pounds on it with a black rod to summon the members to the upper chamber.

When we got inside, the crowds were so thick, we couldn't see squat. The Prime Minister paraded by and Mum was thrilled. All we could see was the back of the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. He wears colonial type clothes, all black, and a tri-cornered hat like you see on the portraits of George Washington. The throne speech was brief (about 40 minutes in all) and Mum patiently waited in the crowds. She didn't want to leave.

Just then, my Boss (ex-Boss now) appears around the corner chatting with the Deputy Minister of Industry. He introduces Mum, and when he finds out that Mum is Bahamian, he asks her if she wants to meet the Minister. Mum graciously says yes, but she confides to him, that she would like to meet the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. Well no sooner said than done.

Pretty soon, the colonial dressed guy comes over. The Deputy Minister gets Mum's attention, and introduces Lieutenant Commander Terrance Christopher, the Senate's Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod.

Mum is flabbergasted. The first thing out of her mouth was "But you're white!". For some reason, Mum thought that the Gentleman User of the Black Rod was a black man, because of his title. After all, the Governor General is a Chinese woman. Of course, the Lieutenant Commander is all smiles and gracious, and pretty soon, Mum is too. All's well that ends well.

Mum should have been a diplomat, because she got herself out of that sticky wicket. On the way home, I asked her what exactly she thought the black rod was, and she slapped me.

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